Dibang hydro project: HC admits plea for PAF status of 75,000 downstream residents

Itanagar, Feb 23: The Itanagar bench of the Gauhati High Court on Monday admitted a writ petition seeking recognition of downstream communities affected by the 2,880 MW Dibang Multipurpose Hydro Project as Project Affected Families (PAFs).

The petition was filed on February 13 by the Uttama Bor Abor Sanrakshana Sanrachana (UBSS), a registered public charitable trust in Arunachal Pradesh.

It seeks formal recognition of residents in the Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh and the Tinsukia–Sadiya belt of Assam as PAFs, making them eligible for rehabilitation and compensation benefits under the law.

Led by UBSS chairman Bigam Pertin, the petition argues that tens of thousands of downstream residents have been excluded from resettlement and mitigation packages despite documented risks linked to the project.

Pertin claimed that over 75,000 people face potential threats to their homes, farmlands and livelihoods.

“Our case rests on irrefutable facts, constitutional rights, and the lived hardships of over 75,000 people whose homes, farmlands, and futures are at stake,” Pertin said.

The petition levels multiple allegations against authorities and the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).

These include the alleged arbitrary denial of PAF status to downstream communities despite official acknowledgements that inundation and flood risks could extend up to 63 km downstream.

It also questions the validity of the 2016 Cumulative Impact Assessment Study, claiming it omitted the first 45 km stretch downstream; described as the most densely populated zone.

The plea further alleges that mandatory public hearings were not conducted in downstream districts of Assam, in violation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006.

Additionally, the petition cites failure to obtain free, prior and informed consent from tribal communities under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, and raises concerns over delays in constructing seismic-resistant embankments and preparing emergency response mechanisms in a seismically sensitive region.

UBSS has backed its petition with community resolutions, signatures from affected residents and documentation of alleged impacts, including fisheries decline, unseasonal flooding, ecological degradation and loss of fertile land.

The legal action follows earlier protests by the Dibang Multipurpose Hydro Project Downstream Affected Area Committee (DMHPDAAC), which on August 11, 2025 issued an ultimatum demanding commencement of downstream protection works, including guide bund construction, by August 24.

The committee pointed out that Rs 154 crore had already been sanctioned for such measures, but claimed there was no visible progress after the deadline lapsed.

In a press briefing held in Shantipur, Assam on August 22, 2025, relocated there citing restrictions on public assemblies, Pertin had also alleged diversion of project-related funds.

He referred to Rs 215 crore in Compensatory Afforestation funds linked to diversion of 9,156 hectares of forest land for the project, and raised questions over the utilisation of Rs 171 crore allocated for downstream flood mitigation.

The Dibang Multipurpose Hydro Project, among India’s largest planned hydropower projects, has long drawn both support and resistance.

With the matter now before the Gauhati High Court, the dispute over downstream recognition and environmental safeguards enters a new legal phase.